Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering [Paperback]

Hal Cannon (Editor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1990

This collection of poems was chosen from among 10, 000 gathered from cowboy reciters, ranch poets and from a library of over 200 published works of cowboy verse. One third of the poems are classics that have proven their vitality by having lived in the hearts and minds of cowboys and ranchers for decades. The remaining two-thirds are new, created within the last few years.

"Most cowboy poems speak of real events and people, from bucking horses and cagey cows to old Stetson hats and long winter travels. Although they focus on the ordinary stuff of life, their truths . . . seem no less eternal than those penned by William Shakespeare. Some cowboy poems are bust-a-gut funny; a few are downright dirty . . . most carry an honest, primitive power."

--Michael Riley, TIME Magazine

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Cowboy's Dance Song by James Barton Adams
Bellerin' And Bawlin' by Linda Ash
Ol' Edgar Martin by Carlos Ashley
Bear Ropin' Buckaroo by Squire Omar Barker
Jack Potter's Courtin' by Squire Omar Barker
Rain On The Range by Squire Omar Barker
Early Morning Roundup by Owen Barton
My Ol' Stetson by Owen Barton
Going To The Shawnee Rodeo by Don Bell
The Big High And Lonesome by Baxter Black
A Time To Stay, A Time To Go by Baxter Black
Fill Up Those Glasses, Bartender by Jim Bollers
For Jeff by Jon Bowerman
Tribute To Freckles And Tornado by Jon Bowerman
The Cowboys' Christmas Ball by Larry Chittendon
A Cowboy's Prayer by Charles Badger, Jr. Clark
Buckskin Flats by Gordon Eastman
One Red Rose by Ernie Fanning
The Vanished Valley by Ernie Fanning
The Cowboy's Prayer by Curley Fletcher
The Flyin' Outlaw by Curley Fletcher
The Strawberry Roan by Curley Fletcher
The Dude Wrangler by Gail Gardner
The Sierry Petes by Gail Gardner
Cowboy's Toast by Dick Gibford
The Last Buckaroo by Dick Gibford
The Old Cowman by Dick Gibford
Gathering Cattle In The Deertracks Pasture by Drummond Hadley
'bueno,' Which In Spanish Means Good by Nyle A. Henderson
How Many Cows? by Nyle A. Henderson
Matching Green Ribbon by Jim Hofer
Dudes by Nick Johnson
Greasin' The Miles by Nick Johnson
The Dying Times by Ross Knox
Easy Chairs And Saddle Sores by Ross Knox
So Long by Ross Knox
Poets Gathering, 1985 by Charles A. Kortes
The Cowboy's Soliloquy by Allen Mccanless
Alkali Pete Hits Town by T. J. Mccoy
The Lease Hound by Wallace Mcrae
Reincarnation by Wallace Mcrae
The Book by Waddie Mitchell
The Throw-back by Waddie Mitchell
Range Cow In Winter by Vern Mortensen
Young Fellers by R. O. Munn
Cowboy's Favorite by Barney Nelson
Grey's River Roundup by Howard L. Norskog
D-2 Horse Wrangler by D. J. O'malley
Cows And Logs by Harold Otto
Spring by Vess Quinlan
No Imposter by Duane Reece
The Kid Solos by Bob Schild
Two Of A Kind by Bob Schild
Old Tuff by Georgie Sicking
To Be A Top Hand by Georgie Sicking
The Glow by Bill Simpson
Like It Or Not by Bill Simpson
Old Horse by Don Ian Smith
Saturday Night In Woody by Jessie Smith
The Gol-darned Wheel by Anonymous
Silver Jack by Anonymous
The Zebra Dun by Anonymous
The Blizzard by Eugene Fitch Ware
Buckin' Horse Ballet by Lucky Whipple
Chookaloski Mare by Lucky Whipple
Open Range by Melvin L. Whipple
Voices In The Night by Melvin L. Whipple
Saddle Tramp by Buck Wilkerson
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

From the Inside Flap

Contents (by author) Introductio Acknowledgments Allen McCanless Gail Gardner Anonymous Anonymous S. Omar Barker Larry Chittendon T.J. McCoy Anonymous Eugene Ware Anonymous D.J. O'Malley James Barton Adams Bruce Kiskaddon Henry Herbert Knibbs Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous Curley Fletcher Badger Clark Nyle A. Henderson Carlos Ashley Georgie Sicking Jon Bowerman Howard Norskog Waddie Mitchell Ernie Fanning Jesse Smith Buck Wilkerson Bob Schild Jim Hofer Baxter Black Charles A. Kortes Nick Johnson Linda Ash Bill Lowman Ross Knox Don Ian Smith Melvin L. Whipple Lucky Whipple Gorden Eastman Duane Reece Harold Otto Vern Mortensen R. O. Munn Drummond Hadley Dick Gibford Bill Simpson Barney Nelson Jim Bollers Owen Barton Don Bell Wallace McRae Vess Quinlan

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (April 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879052082
• ISBN-13: 978-0879052089
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A broad-based collection of the best in the genre., January 27, 1999

By 

Mark E. Baxter "Inquirer" (Layton, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering (Paperback)

As someone who became interested in cowboy poetry in only the last few years, I've found this collection to contain some of the best authors, both old and new. The old cowboy poetry always rhymed, and often had the cadence you feel while horseback, chasing a herd of cows. It was politically conservative, simple, and often written in a wistful style that recognized the changing nature of the American West. This collection does the genre proud. Its list of authors provides a starting point for further excursions in this art form. Much of the new cowboy poetry has gone the way of poetry in general, consisting of long-winded liberal whines full of obscure and meaningless, but politically-correct, allusions. This book has none of that, and meets the criterion for poetry taught me by my first school teacher in an old one-room schoolhouse, "It ain't much of a poem, if it don't rhyme".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Folksy and earthy and wise, May 23, 2005

By 

Debbie the Book Devourer "dletour7" (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering (Paperback)

I've read only one other book of cowboy poetry so far (Cowboy Poetry: The Reunion), and I enjoyed this one just as much as I did that one. This book has more of the older poems by some cowboys who have long ago ridden off into the proverbial sunset, but also contains poems by some contemporary ranchers and cowhands.

What I like about this genre is that the folks who write the poetry are working ranchers, farmers, and cowboys. Their poetry, therefore, is straightforward and rings true. Reading some, you can almost taste the dust. These folks have a hard life, yet one they love. Yet they express themselves so beautifully that it sometimes brings a tear to my eye. I'll take this kind of poetry over some of the weirdness you read in so-called literary magazines any day!